How To Change Your Car's Engine Oil
This is quite an easy process and anyone with a sense of handyman attitude could change the oil in almost any car. Her is how to do it.
Right firstly to do this yourself you will need several items of equipment:
standard equipment
- jack and jack stands
- 2 wedges
- funnel
- chain wrench
- combination or multi spanner
- large container or several small ones and one seal able container
- plastic bag or seal-able zip bag
- protection e.g. newspapers, gloves, rags, old clothes
Specialist items and parts
- new engine oil
- new oil filter
- new drain sealing washer
Run The Engine To Warm Up The Oil
Ok to start you need to heat the oil up to make it thinner and less viscous, thus will flow better out of the engine. to do this simply drive your car around for around 5 minutes until the car engine indicator comes on. NOTE too long and you risk skin burns!
Always Think Of Safety First
You will need to get under the vehicle for a oil change so jack the it up and make sure it is safe (Warning ensure jack is properly on to avoid the car collapsing on top of you) and use several jack stands to ensure it is safe (don’t just use one jack as safety)
Note oil is messy so lay protection on yourself and the floor. Next locate your drain plug on the lowest part of the engine with a nut and washer underneath.DO NOT mistake it for the transmission drain plug!. Once located unplug it by loosening the drain plug nut (do not fully remove). Place the waste oil container underneath then remove the nut entirely. NOTE the oil will be hot so get away from it and slide out from underneath the vehicle.
Leave for around a hour for best result .
Time Now To Remove The Oil
Now, after the hour, we need access to the car engine from the bonnet to vent the oil system. Now remove the oil filter cap and remove the oil dipstick and clean. We also need to find the oil filter to change it, this can be found by looking for a big cylindrical metal cartridge. (NOTE the oil filter will contain hot oil so take car to avoid burns). Now get your new filter, coat the gasket at the bottom with oil by getting the old filters oily gasket and rub against the new filters dry gasket and this aids connection with the engine block. Now clean the area with a rag where the filter will go and place the new filter into place and screw it in manually. use the chain wrench to tighten until securely connected
Right now take the new sealing washer and place over the drain nut. You now need to thread the nut and washer back into the plug hole (you will need to get under your car again). Now tighten the drain plug and let out a sigh of relief since your done under the car.
Right you now have a car with no oil, so it needs to be replaced using the funnel in the oil filter hole and putting in the new oil. Put the cap on when your done and check the oil level using the cleaned dipstick (between min and max marks). Right now you have to tidy up your mess before your other half returns to see the mess you have made, but will forgive all if you have done it right since you’ve said some cash.
Some tips on cleaning
- get seal able container and place funnel in, this will get rid of excess oil
- Now get all waste oil and funnel into seal able container
- put the container in a plastic bag or zipped bag and seal (along with extra car parts used)
- take oil to a recycling place and dispose safely
- Start car engine and leave for 3 minutes and check for oil leaks and loose drain plug
- dispose of oil filter and sealed waste to a garage or petrol station for recycling